Opportunity Beckons (Again) for the Cursed at 2015 US Open
Coming into the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, the focus was primarily on golf's next generation, thanks to the recent successes of Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler.
However, there's another group threatening to steal the spotlight from those decorated 20-somethings: The snake-bitten veterans of the PGA Tour who have gotten close to the U.S. Open trophy before but never walked away from this tournament—or any major, in some cases—as the champion.
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These men are taking one well-known proverb—if at first you don't succeed, try, try again—to new heights.
Quite a few of these hexed hopefuls are toward the top of the first-round leaderboard in Washington, all within shouting distance of clubhouse leaders Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson, who sit at five under par.
The most decorated and famous (infamous?) of these golfers is, of course, Phil Mickelson.
Mickelson has five majors to his name—three Masters, one PGA Championship and one British Open—but he's never won the U.S. Open. He has, however, finished as the runner-up at this tournament six times in his career: 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009 and 2013.
For many, a second-fiddle resume like that would be reason enough to throw in the towel, but Mickelson has used it as fuel for his competitive fire.
"I've always been somebody, ever since I was a kid, that got motivated because of failure, that worked harder because of failure," Mickelson said earlier this week, as reported by Ryan Ballengee of Yahoo.
According to Ballengee, Mickelson's hard work recently has been extensive:
"Mickelson channeled that energy into a year-long plan. He put in time at the gym, building strength and shedding pounds. The result: restored swing speed that has him hitting it, he says, as long as ever. He refined his swing plane and made some extra swing tweaks to feel good again over the ball. He made an early scouting trip to unknown Chambers Bay, and he walked away beaming with excitement.
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The fruit of Lefty's efforts was evident right from the start at Chambers Bay, as he shot three birdies in his first nine holes Thursday. He added one birdie and three bogeys to that tally on his final nine, to finish the day at one under par, firmly in the conversation.
"I missed a couple of birdie opportunities coming in, but I'm really happy to be under par after the first day," he said on Fox Sports 1 after his round.
Mickelson knows from experience that he's a very long way from overcoming his U.S. Open demons, but on Thursday he at least didn't get any farther away from his goals.
He's not the only one on the leaderboard looking to move past his history of close calls, however. Colin Montgomerie and Sergio Garcia are hanging around, and together they make Mickelson look like the most charmed golfer in the universe.
Montgomerie is tied with Mickelson at one under par after the first 18 holes at Chambers Bay, which leaves the door open for the 51-year-old to win the first major of his career.
The Scot has won three of the last six majors on the senior tour, but he has never been able to nab a major on the PGA Tour, despite finishing as the runner-up at three U.S. Opens, a British Open and a PGA Championship in his Hall of Fame career. (To add insult to injury, two of those losses came in playoffs.)
However, Monty has learned how to close the deal on the Champions Tour and is bringing that confidence into this tournament.
“I am playing as well as I ever have, I am playing as well as I did in the '90s," Montgomerie said before this tournament began, as reported by Sky Sports. In fact, despite the fact that the tour is skewing toward youth, fitness and power, he doesn't feel like he is at a disadvantage.
“I was overweight then, I am overweight now so there is no difference! I am actually swinging the club well."
Garcia is as fit and powerful as golfers come, but at 35, he's no longer a part of the youth movement. In fact, with four runner-up finishes, 19 top 10s and no major championship victories, he's much more of a jaded veteran these days.
However, the spunky Spaniard is feeling good after his even-par performance on the first day at Chambers Bay, even if he's not feeling so good about the greens.
Even the very top of the leaderboard is filled with golfers who have had major hopes slip through their fingers before.
Johnson, who famously took a 54-hole lead into Sunday at the 2010 U.S. Open before shooting an 82—is at five-under par after the first day, as is Stenson, a former world No. 2 who was the runner-up at the 2013 British Open and has seven top-five finishes at majors over the past seven years.
Golf arguably provides more opportunities for glory than most of the other major sports, but it also provides more opportunities for heartbreak.
So sure, it would be fun to see the young hot-starts of the game continue to establish themselves this weekend at Chambers Bay, and a Tiger Woods (five over par) renaissance would be an impossible story to resist.
But at this point, it's hard not to look at the star-crossed silver medalists of U.S. Opens past and wonder if perhaps Chambers Bay will be where they finally win gold.
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